Greetings

Greetings

To address people formally, use Mr. or Ms. or a title plus the first name. There are several titles of respect in Vietnamese, but they aren't used in English. One may greet by bowing slightly to each other, they may join hands. Usually, higher ranking people are greeted first (the family head).

The custom of handshaking, formerly considered barbaric to the Vietnamese, is now achieving popularity due to the Western influence in the country. Men will generally shake hands and say the equivalent of "how are you" and tip their hats when greeting people. Women, especially those in the countryside, still shy away from shaking hands, especially with men from their own country. It is best not to offer to shake hands with a woman unless she offers her hand first.
Greetings - People coming to work or to meeting each other in a routine setting will usually use a verbal greeting and response.
Additionally, in small or rural communities, strangers simply passing on the sidewalk may exchange simple greetings. This is less common is larger cities but still may occur
Verbal greetings vary depending on where you are in the U.S. and the familiarity of the people exchanging the greeting.
Simple verbal greetings - These greetings can be repeated as a response.
"Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening" varies with the time of day. (Often shortened to "Morning/Afternoon/Evening" informally).
"Hello" is a very common telephone greeting and is also used face to face.
"Hi" is a shortened form of Hello.
Other common verbal greetings require a more advance response and invite conversation. These may follow up a simple greeting.
"How ya doin?" is an abbreviated form of "How are you doing?" A common response might be, "Good, and you? (Returning the question).
"What's up?" is a way of asking how busy you are. Responses vary from "Nothing much" to "Working hard" followed by "What's up with you?" or "How you doin?"
Physical Greetings - A wave of the hand or nod of the head may...